A Tribute to my Teacher Rabbi Simon Krinsky:
His Poetry until 1936
Now Available
Sixty poems in Yiddish with English translations
Rabbi Simon Krinsky was born in Poland and ordained in Palestine. In 1931 he came to Wilmington, Delaware with his growing family to begin his career—twelve years as Principal of the Adas Kodesh Hebrew School followed by twenty years at Temple Beth Emeth as Principal of its Hebrew Department. In all, Rabbi Krinsky served every Jewish congregation in the State of Delaware, filling in for the local rabbis when they were on vacation, teaching the Bar/Bat Mitzvah students for the congregation in Dover and upon his retirement as the rabbi of Temple Beth El in Newark, Delaware.
Rabbi Simon Raphael Krinsky was beloved by his congregation and by his students. When he retired Temple Beth Emeth named him Scholar for Life.
The Jewish Historical Society of Delaware is pleased to publish this volume of Rabbi Krinsky’s poems in a dual-language edition. Originally published in Yiddish, these moving poems have been sensitively translated by Rabbi Edward Zerin.
Please contact the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware for pricing of wholesale purchases, international shipping and other questions.
An e-book edition of this work will be available shortly.
About the Translator
Rabbi Edward Zerin was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 1946. He has been a faculty member of Drake University, Grinnell College, and Boston University. He is the author of nine books, including Jewish San Francisco: From the Gold Rush to Today (2006), and The Birth of the Torah (1962). Rabbi Zerin has a long and distinguished record of Jewish history writing and consulting.
Advance Reviews
Rabbi Edward Zerin’s poetic translations are moving tribute to his teacher and mentor Rabbi Simon Krinsky. These poems represent a wide range of sensitivity, feeling and emotions, romance and pessimism. Rabbi Krinsky calls us to a concern for social justice and fairness to all. At the same time he conducts a conversation with the Jewish tradition. The translations are a pleasure to read preserving the spirit of the original. This volume should find a place in Jewish homes and libraries everywhere.
Paul Howard Hamburg, Librarian for Judaica,
Yiddish and Israel Studies, University of California—Berkeley
What Rabbi Krinsky, a Hebrew educator with a poetic soul composed in Yiddish Rabbi Zerin shaped into a sensitive English. It is a pleasure to read these poems in both languages.
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
Bringing together the Yiddish poetry of Rabbi Krinsky, written during the Great Depression, and the English translation by his student Rabbi Zerin 80 years later is a tribute to two great teachers and scholars. Rabbi Krinsky was able to treat ordinary events and nature in a wonderful rhyming pattern. Rabbi Zerin bridges the gap of being true to the meaning of the Yiddish words and converting it into English in a masterful way. This side-by-side printing is both a learning and inspirational approach. In my opinion, this book ranks in the top ten percent of books like it. It will make a great gift.
Philip “Fishl” Kutner—Founder and editor of Der Bay